


Kaleidoscopes of broken wishes

by BloodyButterfly



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Death, Disabled Characters, Drama, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Magic, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Relationship(s), Slow Burn, Tragedy, warfare
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2018-04-22
Packaged: 2019-02-23 12:50:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13190460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BloodyButterfly/pseuds/BloodyButterfly
Summary: Alfred is a wish-seeker, someone whose job is to travel all around the known lands looking for wishes to grant. His role is to find and create ways to concede his designated customer's wish at all costs -for the right price, of course.As a novice in the line, he is assigned to woman's seemingly hopeless request from the middle of an abandoned war zone, the one wish no other wanted to take responsibility for. Determined to impress in his first work, he accepts the challenge, completely unaware he was to meet his very own Soulmate on the journey.The one meant for him, however, was nothing like Alfred expected and he realized that even though his Soulmate had filled his world with color, he might never be able to do the same for him.





	1. Chapter One: My first job comes in colors

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, everybody! So, this is my first fanfic on this site, I haven't published anything in quite a while -you can call this a post-christmas miracle- and it's also my first work in English - please, forgive me for any gramatical/ortographic mistakes, I'm trying my best not to make any, but English is not my first language and I don't have a Beta Reader to help me with this. 
> 
> That being said, I hope you enjoy the story!

Alfred brushed up his insignia over again, tilting the metallic pin between his fingers and polishing the already perfectly shiny surface with the sleeve of his button-up shirt. The pattern of it was a simple W and S carved in a swirly calligraphy on the golden regalia, the letters humbly crafted in royal blue over the auric outward, but the meaning of it was much greater than the object itself. A large grin tugged up his lips every time he looked at it, chest full with pride and self-satisfaction; he still had to keep himself from squeaking like an overly excited child every time he held it.

Becoming a wish-seeker hadn’t been easy. Alfred had spent the last three years training for the position, trying to fulfill all requirements and training for every test and interview he would be submitted to. The process was long and bureaucratic enough on its own, involving physical, psychological and theoretical preparations. He went through written evaluations, verbal inquiries and multiple analyses before even managing to be called for his first interview. Basically, it took a lot of effort and work, meaning he had all the right to be proud of it.

His childish manifestations of excitement, however, were still happening in public and, not for the first time that day, the charioteer gazed his way curiously, huffing internally at the man’s innocent enthusiasm –so clearly foreign to those lands. Had it not been for his badge, which exhibited a recognizable symbol, and he would be wondering what a bright young newcomer like Alfred was doing there. It wasn’t exactly a region to attract tourists or anyone who was in their right mind really. Especially now, in those difficult times.

The blond’s radiant presence was refreshing in a way the old man couldn’t quite place. They spent most of their journey lost in energetic conversations; The American was not only chatty, but also incredibly warm and charismatic. It was hard not to give into his cheerful aura, so very rare to be found there and Alfred had every reason to be ecstatic. Leaving the capital had been exciting enough, but taking trains? Crossing borders? Wandering around capitals surrounded by countless foreign voices speaking multiple languages in messes of unintelligible words? It was mind-blowing to him. The boy had never traveled much further than the near cities connected to the American metropolis due to poor financial conditions -he would never have money to spend on that- but he knew he loved traveling.

The idea of going out into the world to visit new places, meet new people, new cultures, languages, traditions and monuments... It was nothing but fascinating, thrilling, entrancing. That was the exact reason he gave it his all to become a wish-seeker: he now got to embark in journeys all across the nation and be highly paid for it while meeting new people and granting their wishes; He was like a real life superhero! A man with a mission and it was _awesome_! So what if he didn't get assigned to an easy mission in a beautiful city? He would show them; Alfred Jones could grant any wish from anywhere, no matter how hard or dangerous it could be.

It had been five days ago that his boss called him in private to discuss the options for his first job. The old man had rambled about small assignments that needed to be done in their own town -New York was always cluttered by a sea of requests, for obvious reasons- and he tried to coax Alfred into accepting any of the many silly works available -domestic jobs, really.

It was a very disheartening perspective for someone like him to work on mundane matters such as those. He’d always known there were wish-seekers who dedicated their time to running simple errands all over their vicinities, they settled somewhere and took any easy work there was around, but that wasn’t exactly what he wanted from his job –and his boss seemed to realize that in a glance.

The man was very cunning, or so would Alfred realize moments later, and had hidden motives to bore the American with monotonous work opportunities. After completely crushing the boy’s first expectations, he used his trump card: Russia.

_"Russia?! As in, the actual Russian province? It's in the frontier of the effing Russian province?!"_ He'd shrieked, appalled, _"You've got to be kidding me! I thought no one even lived there anymore!"_

The conditions of the job were so adverse Alfred had no idea how it made it to the American branch of assignments. At that point of their negotiations, however, Alfred could only guess it was either Russia or having to do tedious affairs nearby and he simply dreaded the possibility of being relocated to that sort of department. What if that was the defining point of his career? The moment he had to decide which kind of wish-seeker he would be reminded as? Damn, he needed to start with a boom if he expected to create a name for himself -and if that meant he was going to Russia, then so be it!

It was a wish regarding healing service -pretty much normal and supposedly easy to do-, the place where it came from was the matter though. Albeit it was true that Russia was known for many great deeds in the nation's history, the district was also famous for it's problematics. Alfred had managed to get a book on the subject from the local bookstore before leaving and the province was simply enchanting. Incredible architecture, awesome history, exotic culture and customs... There was so much he didn't know about that region -it was a very reserved part of the empire after all- but the worrying aspect of his errand wasn’t exactly the touristic Russia, it was the frontier part.

Unfortunately his job wasn't anywhere near the main points of the territory, far from the stunning capital, Moscow, and from the province's big cities, like St. Petersburg, Saratov and Voronezh. In order to arrive there he had to take a few trains, at least two wagons, ask for information in the nearest city and there was still a small walk of a couple of miles waiting for him. It was a hell of an isolated place.

Despite all prosperity and wealth the province exulted around its capital, Russia also bore some of the worst regions when it came to poverty and disasters. The territory shared unfortunate boundaries with less than friendly nations, being geographically underprivileged compared to most of the other provinces, and those boundaries were Alfred’s exact destination.

The borders staged countless invasions and battles throughout history and it continued to be a major source of concern. It was not since long that an armistice was signed and war ceased in the region, a mere six years ago, and a hostile instability still hung in the air between the two nations. During bloodshed times most of the citizens who resided near conflict areas fled south, running away from the violence and devastation that befell their cities and it was still too soon to try and reestablish decent towns in the regions, particularly now, when the international relations seemed to be souring once over. It was a dangerous time to be a Russian in the boundaries.

And that was how he’d gotten himself in that particular situation -easily falling for his superior’s manipulation and making what was probably his most reckless decision yet-and now he was traveling all by himself, thousands of miles away from home, talking to a funny old native as he was given a ride to a small town that seemed to be the closest one to the address he received. His brother had nearly smacked him in the head when he heard it, incredulous that he’d gotten such extreme task for his first work, but of course he wound up supporting him with it and helping packing up for the trip; Matthew was protective, yet ever soft-hearted when it came to Alfred.

Despite all wonders of traveling, there were a few things he wasn’t expecting to encounter. Marveled by the capitals and national monuments, little did he actually know about the region he was headed. He might’ve taken the thought the things being slightly less wonderful there too lightly, too excited to really consider the whole picture, so it wasn’t an understatement to say he was utterly blown away by what he testified.

Seeing the landscape come undone in poverty and misery had been soul-crushing. In a matter of hours the scenery of rich mansions and big cities dismantled, replaced by cluttered small shacks and dirty looking streets. He watched as the locals became thinner and grimmer along the way, as he reached borderline towns to be greeted by images of small children running barefoot across the alleys, either carrying cheap merchandise for tourists or waiting for the first opportunity to pick their pockets. The residents were short people with livid faces, hollow cheeks and branch-like limbs –easily recognizable when compared to healthy, prosperous visitors. It was much more evident, the famine, the inequality and unfairness of it all.

In New York there were slums too, but they weren’t this precarious, this devastated, and it was completely different to what he was seeing there. War never reached the American province; they were in the center of the nation, maintaining the national capital and some of its most influential centers, it couldn’t ever be as poor or miserable as the cities in the borderlands of Russia. Alfred should’ve known it, but facing a reality that was never presented in his fancy book for tourists was a literal slap in the face. He could only see as much before entering the chariot and tucking himself in for a nap, not wanting to keep witnessing more than he already did.

It took a few more hours for him to regain his good mood. There was no use in feeling sorry for anyone when he couldn’t do much to help, so he tried to focus on the journey ahead. Luckily his charioteer also seemed to notice his uneasiness and tried to lighten the atmosphere with more animated conversation topics. It helped Alfred that they’d left the urban scenario behind, now venturing by hills and a dense forest –taiga, the old man had told him, also called boreal or snow forest. It was easier to breath around the trees, the sights much more affable tranquil than the American’s home city’s as well.

The blond got some more useful information out of their talks too. According to the conductor, the address he was looking for was tucked away in the woods, quite a long way from the nearest city, and it lead to a small yellow house. One might’ve thought it was too much of coincidence for the man to know exactly the place he was heading, but, in his own words, there were so little of the residents that remained around that it was easy to get to know everybody –one of the advantages of small towns Alfred never got to experience, being the born and raised New-Yorker he was.

The old man said there lived a family of three: two sisters and a brother. He was not close to them; however he remembered having bought a book from the oldest of the sisters a few months back. She was a very sweet young lady, very hard-working too, and Alfred could only wonder why there a sad glint in his eyes as he described her. Apparently the healing wish had been hers, after all.

After reaching a certain point of the woods they stopped for him to finally get down. The whipstitch gave him a few directions on how to get to their house from there and said his good byes before tipping his hat and taking off down the road. Alfred made a quick check on his belongings and hit his trails.

It wasn’t hard to find a path leading straight to the house, probably the siblings used the same routes to come and go all the time, so the vegetation was flat under the passage they took. Although their course was not very apparent, Alfred managed to follow it until their residence.

Their home was quite a small, humble sunny-colored shack surrounded by tall trees. The painting was faded and the wood seemed old, their roof full of sloppy reinforcements to protect them from the harsh climate. There was a cutesy trail of stones leading to the doorway and a garden by the side of the building growing all kinds of vegetables –Alfred could identify beets, carrots, cabbages and a few others.

Too keen on being introduced to the family, he didn’t take his time to further observe the dwelling, hurrying to the entrance. After all the mental preparation he’d done on his way there, that was it: he was about to meet his first contractor. Putting on the brightest of smiles, he cheerfully knocked on the door. Anxiety bubbled on his chest in the brief seconds of waiting for the answer, but when it was opened, Alfred's felt his heart freeze.

For a moment he thought he had just been hit in the head. That had to be the only explanation, right? What was wrong with his sight? Was that a concussion or something like that? God, he was suddenly weak in the knees, leaning over the house’s wall. The blond shut his eyes forcefully, then opened them again. He blinked once, twice, rubbing his eyelids roughly with the back of his hands, trying to make what he was seeing go back to normal, but it simply didn’t.

That was the instant it hit him. Ah, now his sight was blurring on the edges. Were those tears running down his cheeks? Why? When? _Who?_

His vision had exploded in color, burst in infinite tones he couldn't even begin to name, to recognize, to understand. It was all painted right in front of him, those ravishing, stupefying hues and variations, the world seemingly brand new all over, and Alfred felt like this was the first time he opened his eyes since he was born. Breathtaking, dazzling, astonishing views blew him away, subduing, flooding his senses and coercing his mind into an overrun.

_"Oh my god..."_ He wailed, almost sobbing, so enthralled by everything around him he just couldn't contain himself, emotion spilling over the borders.

Alfred adjusted his glasses, heart pounding on his chest, pure adrenaline on his veins, and hurriedly steadied himself up on his wobbly legs. He was so overwhelmed, so disoriented it was hard to piece things together.

The sky is blue; he remembered they'd told him as he shot his head up to take in the view, to avidly consume the images before him. So that was blue, blue spilling white clouds everywhere in sight, blue presented in one of its infinite hues.

And life irradiated from the entire background, from the yellow of the small house, the lively green from vast grassy hills unraveling into leaves on top of high trees, covering brown branches and standing out from their abundant crops. The American didn’t even know the names of those colors, yet there were just so many variations, contrasts, tones… There too much to take in instantly.

And then finally, finally, his eyes found the figure by the door, the one who had showed him everything.  The man was very much taller and broader than him. Every single one of his features sculpted into pallid marble skin, from his strong jaw to his puzzled frown and confused wide eyes looking down at Alfred. He had messy silver bangs sprawled over his forehead, his lips were plump and the way they were parted made Alfred want to kiss them immediately, wanting much more than to just look at him. It was almost impossible to contain the impulse to jump over him and hug him, to voice all those things he needed to get off his chest and the American had never been assaulted by so many feelings all at once.

"... I love you." He blurted out, his entire body still so numbed by the thrill he didn't ever realize the words he said until he actually pronounced them in a single whisper, barely audible.

In other circumstances he would be embarrassed by such immediate, reckless confession, but he couldn’t even begin to regret it. There were so many things he still wanted to say.

_Thank you! My god, thank you so much! I had no idea the world was so beautiful and you're so beautiful too, goddamnit, thank you so much for being here! I never thought I’d actually meet you and-…_

His lips had been trembling so much, his tongue felt like cotton and the words just wouldn't come out, but his inner monologue was soon cut off by the man himself as he uttered words Alfred couldn't ever expect.

"-cuse me? Well... In what could I assist you again, comrade?"

The Russian hadn't moved ever since he opened the door, expressing only confusion as he stared at him. Alfred looked at him dumbfounded, baffled by his utter lack of reaction. Is that how little it meant? How could one not be mesmerized, astounded, utterly stunned that instant?

It was just before a wave of disappointment was about to crush that he realized the other wasn't exactly glancing at him in the eye, those gorgeous orbs rather focused somewhere else of his face he couldn't really pinpoint. That was the moment Alfred's eyes found the thin, white cane on the man's right hand and his stomach dropped in dread, his own eyes widening at the implications.

The Russian hadn't realized, he hadn't realized... God, he had no idea at all and how could he have known? How could he even imagine what Alfred had just experienced? How could he understand the unimaginable breakthrough that just happened? -He couldn't, he didn't, _he wouldn't._

The tears on the corners of Alfred's eyes fell profusely, sorrow wedging on his chest so tightly he felt like the oxygen had been punched out of his lungs.

_His Soulmate was blind_.

 


	2. Chapter two: Her wish for you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh god, sorry for the major delay. I’ve been running around a couple of states for admission tests since the end of last year –by the way, Happy 2018 for everyone! Hope you’re all having a great year so far- and they’ve only finished recently. 2017 was a freaking nightmare, but hey, I’ve at least been admitted to one of my chosen colleges already so that’s a good thing.
> 
> Another reason for taking so long was that this chapter was actually supposed to be thrice as long and I finally convinced myself to cut it short instead of delaying t any further -at least I have the majority of the next chapter ready and should post it soon.
> 
> Anyway, no more excuses! I hope you enjoy the reading! More notes at the end.

_"Ivan?_ _Vse v poryadke?"_ A voice called from inside of the house and a young lady appeared by the doorway, head peeking from the doorway by the height of the Russian man’s chest, confounding Alfred’s frozen form on spot.

As the woman approached, however, it hit him. Two delicate hands were laid over rusty wheels, pushing her forward to the man’s side in familiar yet graceful motions. The chair screeched sturdily under her weight, following as she leaned forward to find impulse in her movement –Alfred’s gaze inadvertently fell upon her well-endowed bust that, although fully covered, still bumped softly, drawing in his attention.

The lady’s hair was pearly blonde, closer to a silvery tinge that diverted from his very golden strands; she wore a plain, baby blue shirt whose buttons seemed tight over her bust, contrasting with the dark brown of the long skirt draped over her legs, almost covering her leather boots tucked into the rail of her chair. She quickly analyzed him from the doorway, cornflower blue eyes lightning up in recognition the moment they found the American’s insignia strapped to his overcoat.

"Brother, why don't you... Come inside for a bit? It is a guest of mine." Her voice was crystalline and hinted uncertainty, but the American sighed in relief as he could understand her words. At least she spoke English, he thought, watching as the tall man before him nodded and quietly retreated back into the house.

*

Alfred knew he hadn’t managed to hide his tears and obvious distress from the woman, but still he furiously tried to wipe away his dampened eyes and cheeks. A pathetic image, really, however it was hard not to give into emotion –he was much too shaken by the turn of events, it was a lot to process in so little time.  

He was grateful the woman followed ahead, no questions asked, silently giving him some time to recompose himself. Taking one and a few deep breaths, he pushed the entirety of the last minutes away from his mind and tried his best to focus in the present –there would be time to let things sink in later. Now he only had to try and be professional.

All the while, the Russian woman was leading him away from the small house, to the edge of the forest, easily pushing her wheelchair over the well-trimmed grass that surrounded the property. The vivid hues of green mingled with fallen leaves and Alfred couldn’t help but look around once again just to be stunned by the colors. It would be hard to keep his thoughts from wandering for a while, but he managed to catch the first words she spoke.

“I am Yekaterina Braginskaya, the petitioner of this job, but you can call me Katyusha if you’d like."

The blond frowned slightly at the way words rolled off her mouth, a strong accent permeating her speech in funny places, consonants and vowels pronounced differently than anything he'd heard before – although somehow softness remained in her voice, comforting him instantly. He mustered his brightest smile and offered his right hand.

"Yes, I'm sorry, I'm Alfred, uh, Alfred Jones, at your service, miss." Katyusha shook his hand in a weak, warm grip, her delicate fingers and small palm felt so fragile within his firm hold it made him wince, "I was informed you requested a healing service."

She nodded.  "Yes. You see, this is a very poor region and we find ourselves lacking services such as medical care. Our condition is not the best and frankly, I was not sure if my request would ever be answered for such small amount of money.” She smiled brightly and a wave of warmth seemed to bloom in the wish-seeker’s chest, “Thank you, Alfred Jones, for coming all the way here to help my family."

Alfred blushed proudly at her words. She made such a big deal out of it, of course he'd come for a petition: it was his job to do so.

“I brought you here to discuss a few of the details. I’ve never done anything like this before, _da?_ So I wanted to make sure I knew what to expect from the service.”

“Of course!” That was easier, talking about his work, and it was almost natural of him to push other matters away from his mind while he spoke to the kind Russian woman, “You see, you’ve gotten the best of lucks ‘cause I’m your man for this job and believe me when I say that Alfred F. Jones is going to do his absolute best in tending to your needs! I have a route planned and many connections that will help my customer to get in touch with the best professionals of the healing area –everything included in the package, obviously. I’ll be sure to make it as fast, yet as comfortable as possible.”

"That’s wonderful! However now I feel like I must apologize for the inconveniences of the traveling. I know the health circumstances might cause some delay on the schedule, but...."

"Oh, dont'cha worry 'bout that!" Alfred interrupted, grinning widely and hoping to reassure the woman. Sure, the wheelchair could cause some difficulties in mobility, especially if they were to face irregular terrains -which they most surely would- but the American was certain he could find ways over that. "I guarantee you we can work through anything that comes along. It is my duty to make sure my contratants are well and cozy all throughout the searches." He stated with confidence.

“Well, that is a relief.”

Alfred grinned, strengthening his grip on his bag and turning back to face the small house, "Alright then, when will we be taking off? Do you have your baggage ready or...?" He trailed off, tone piping up in opened anticipation.

Yekaterina blinked in confusion, then smiled softly at his words.

"Oh, you're misunderstanding. I take it you weren't allowed to read my request's specifications, so I cannot blame you for it." She turned the wheelchair around to face him directly and settled both hands over her lap; lips still tucked up in a kind smile “The request has nothing to do with my own condition. My wish, Mister Jones, is for you to heal my little brother's eyes."

*

Alfred wanted to be able to say he saw it coming, but he really didn’t. Yekaterina was his contratant, the one who virtually wrote, sent and paid for him to come all the way there and the wish wasn’t for her?

After an embarrassing pause as he tried to process the new information, the American finally managed to get a couple of words out his mouth.

"By little brother you mean..."

"Yes, Ivan. The one who greeted you by the door." She seemed to be amused by his surprise, "The thing, Mister Jones, is that he doesn't know about this, so he hasn't packed any of his things yet. He assumes, as you just have, that I'll be the one coming with you."

He shook his head in disbelief. "You… lied to him?"

Katyusha visibly hesitated, lowering her eyes to her own fidgeting hands down her lap.

"My brother is... Very selfless. He wouldn't accept it to be treated before me, he would be angry to know we are supposedly wasting the little money we have on him and wouldn't let me make my wish as I want to, so I lied and said it was for me.” The Russian woman looked up at him with a weak smile, “I never meant any harm, I just… I want him to heal, to be able to do all the things he gave up on when he lost his sight. It was never fair and he's already missed on so much. I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for a very long time for it to be wasted on me.”

At that Alfred was silent, unable to think of anything to tell her. As an older brother himself, he related to her feelings a bit too much for comfort, the wish to watch over and protect his younger twin being familiar to the point he believed he’d most likely do the same if he was in her shoes. Matthew, despite being younger and meeker by nature, was always the one to worry and watch over him -which was ironic, now that he thought about it- but that didn’t mean Alfred didn’t worry as well, especially when he figured his Mattie had supposedly found his called Soulmate. He grimaced at the memory suddenly missing his baby brother.

The American became so lost in his own thoughts he didn’t notice the long pause that stretched between them, needing Yekaterina’s intervention to pull him back to reality.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. It is a very heavy topic, _da?_ Why don’t we head inside? You’ve yet to properly meet my siblings.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:  
> “Ivan? Vse v poryadke”: “Ivan? Is everything alright?”
> 
> Notes: And that was chapter two. I apologize for any possible mistake with the Russian, it was all literally google-translated. If there is any Russian speaker around who can pinpoint what’s wrong I would be happy to correct it here and in any future chapter; I'm already saying that because there'll be a lot of Russian in the next chapter as well. 
> 
> So, we’ve started off quite slow, but I hope you liked it -please share your thoughts with me in the comments, you can be honest even if you didn't like it and I'll appreciate the feedback either way >~<. Hope to see y'all in the next chapter!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for anyone who's read it to the end, this first chapter came out quite long and it was more introductory than anything else, but I really hope you liked it. If you have any notes, suggestions or anything as such please hit me up through the comments or by sending a PM. Any feedback will be much appreciated.  
> Next chapter might take a while since, as you've probably noticed, my chapters tend to be around 2 to 3 thousand words each, but I'll post it as soon as I can.


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